Venezuela is in talks with Russia over the possibility of using the Russian ruble in mutual trade settlements and abandoning U.S. dollar transactions, according to Venezuela’s representative to the UN office in Geneva, Jorge Valero.

The ambassador added that the countries are also discussing the use of Venezuelan state-sponsored oil-backed cryptocurrency, the Petro, launched last year.

Venezuela pegged the value of the Petro to the price of one barrel of Venezuelan oil. The government also pegged Venezuela’s national currency, the Bolivar, to the Petro last summer.

Numerous sanctions introduced against Venezuela by the United Stats have forced the Venezuela to stop using the U.S. dollar for its international transactions. It switched to the Euro last October. In addition, the country started swapping crude oil for imported products.

- paying the bills -

Venezuela is currently trying to get over one of the worst economic crises in history with hyperinflation heading for 10,000,000 percent this year, according to the forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Valero added that Venezuela counts on the Kremlin’s support in restructuring Venezuela’s foreign debt.

The diplomat stressed that the U.S. penalties against the Venezuelan oil sector, along with freezing its dollar accounts, has had an enormous negative impact on the country’s economy. The measures deprived the country of free access to international financial support and investments in its oil sector.